One of the top pitching careers in Horseheads High School history has come to a painfully early end.

Blue Raiders first-team all-state pitcher Mike Limoncelli will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a tear in his right pitching elbow.

Jeff Limoncelli, his dad and the head coach at Horseheads, is hoping to set up the surgery as soon as next week. Once that happens, Mike will be done playing high school baseball. In the meantime, he won't throw another pitch at the high school level.

"Obviously being a pitcher it’s one of the worst things you want to hear at the end of the day," he said Saturday night following a doubleheader against Elmira at Dunn Field. "It was tough. It was really tough. The ride back as I went to Syracuse I think I bawled my eyes out for the whole two hours.

"It’s a steppingstone that I’ve got to accomplish. I’ve got to go through some adversity. Everyone has to at some point in their life and my road’s a little different. But at the end of the day it’s God’s plan. He always has the best interest for me."

After feeling continued discomfort in the elbow, Limoncelli went to the Guthrie campus in Sayre for an MRI on Thursday. He received the results Friday at a clinic in Syracuse.

"I was talking to my dad, about to go to my English class and I just knew something was wrong," Mike said. "I just broke down crying and left and we got an MRI appointment that day."

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Mike Limoncelli delivers a pitch for Horseheads during a 5-1 loss to Massapequa on June 8, 2018 during a Class AA baseball state semifinal at Union-Endicott.(Photo: Andrew Legare / Staff photo)

Following Horseheads' return from a spring trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Limoncelli said he felt pain during a bullpen session.

"It wasn’t like I was building up like, ah, I’m kind of throwing through pain," he said. "I was pumping that day. I was throwing really hard and it was just one throw. The pitch before I didn’t feel anything and it was just one throw. It just popped."

He said he initially thought he just had a strain and he was shut down from pitching.

"I was like, I’m going to ice it out," he said. "Take some Advil and Aleve and then I’m going to get back into it. And it felt great. I didn’t feel anything. Only when I started throwing, that’s when I felt discomfort. I was like, I don’t know and then I did it again the next week. I just iced it for the week and threw and it was hurting."

Jeff Limoncelli said he is hoping to talk to renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews on Monday to set up surgery. Mike played designated hitter in both games of Horseheads' doubleheader sweep Saturday, wearing a protective brace on his elbow, but his prep playing career could be over as soon as next week. His injury is a big blow in the Blue Raiders' bid to repeat as Section 4 Class AA champs, though Horseheads (8-3) has other quality pitchers, as was evidenced Saturday.

"It’s going to be season-ending, unfortunately," Jeff said. "It’s a Tommy John surgery. It’s tough. ... We tried to shut him down and it wasn’t getting better. We got the MRI and there is a tear in there. So we’re going to get that fixed while he’s 18 and not let it fester. Get it done now.

"I’m waiting on Dr. Andrews to call me back Monday. If we can fly him down to Florida this week to get it done, he’s done for the year. I want to get it done."

The surgery is named for former major league pitcher Tommy John, who was the first to undergo the procedure in 1974, with Dr. Frank Jobe performing what was then an experimental surgery. The procedure involves the repair of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the elbow.

Horseheads senior Mike Limoncelli follows through on a swing during Game 1 of a doubleheader against Elmira on May 4, 2019 at Dunn Field in Elmira.(Photo: Andrew Legare/Elmira Star-Gazette)

Limoncelli posted a 5-2 record on the mound in 2018, with a 0.73 ERA to lead Horseheads to the Class AA state semifinals for the first time since 1999. He struck out 51 and walked 14 in 36 2/3 innings.

This season he made two starts and posted a 2-0 record. In nine scoreless innings, Limoncelli didn't allow a hit, striking out 20 batters.

Limoncelli has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Division I power Coastal Carolina. While the injury will no doubt impact his draft hopes, his spot still awaits at Coastal Carolina.

Depending on the location of the tear, he said the recovery could take six months or between nine and 12 months. That leaves the strong possibility of red-shirting next season at Coastal Carolina, with his college career getting started in 2021.

"Obviously it hurts in the draft," Jeff said. "We understand that and it’s a blow to him. But he has his college commitment still that he’ll go there and I’m thinking probably red-shirt freshman year now and he’s got a long road back. But he is a hard worker, he’s a great kid. God willing, he’ll be back to where he was."

Mike has been in contact with Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore since he found out the significance of his injury.

"He's been great throughout this whole thing," Mike said of Gilmore. "Obviously to me personally he’s the best coach in college baseball. No question about that. He really takes pride in developing his kids and making sure they’re ready to go. He’s not going to be the type of coach who just throws me up there. He’s going to take his time with me and make sure I’m ready to go."

The goal now is to get better and return to the pitcher's mound as soon as possible.

"It’s been really emotional," Jeff said. "It’s devastating, but like I tell him there are kids that are worse off. He doesn’t have a disease, he has an injury that can be fixed. So you’ve got to put things in perspective. He’s still young and we will go ahead and get this thing fixed and in a couple years you’ll hear about him again.

"Obviously he’s very, very distraught. He wants to be out there pitching, he wants to be playing short and he doesn’t want to be a DH. He wants to contribute more."

Unlike some No. 1 pitchers for high school teams, the innings count for Limoncelli has been relatively low during his career. Even this year he had a pitch count of 65 on a day when they knew major league scouts would have their radar guns out.

"The doctor said my elbow, it’s perfectly healthy and it’s really spot-on clean," Mike said. "I just throw 95 at 18. It’s not really a good combination. It was bound to tear. It sucks. That’s the game. But now you just come back and get a bionic arm and go from there."